Former Europe Minister Keith Vaz should be suspended from the House of Commons for one month, the Committee on Standards and Privileges ruled today.

The committee found that Mr Vaz had committed "serious breaches" of the MPs' code of conduct, as well as a contempt of the House of Commons.

The committee said that it would have been satisfied with an apology from Mr Vaz for those complaints against him which it upheld, if it had not been for the way in which he responded to the allegations investigated by Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Elizabeth Filkin.

The committee agreed with Mrs Filkin in not upholding a series of detailed complaints about Mr Vaz's relationship with the Hinduja brothers, the controversial Indian businessmen.

But it went on to say that Mr Vaz had provided "misleading information" to the committee during the last Parliament, and to Mrs Filkin, about the financial relationship between his family and the Hindujas.

It also took Mr Vaz to task over the way he responded to the investigation into the complaints against him.

The committee said: "In his response to the investigation of the complaints against him since February 2000, Mr Vaz failed in his duty of accountability under the Code of Conduct by refusing to submit himself to the scrutiny appropriate to his office as a Member."